INDUSTRY IN REVIEW

By Don McCurdy

But, I thought it was a secret?

Vancouver "undercover provincial agents" are reported to be planning "secret" sting operations to enforce the "new" taxi bill of rights. Three quick questions:

• if they're "secret" sting operations how come some yokel from Texas knows about it?
  
  
  
• what are "undercover provincial agents", some kind of disguised insurance salesmen? And lastly,
  
  
  
• didn't they already have a "refusal to convey" law?

While I applaud the city's enforcement of their regulations, this has the feel of a dog and pony show to convince the local citizenry that there's no problem in the industry with drivers doing as they please. Now forewarned, drivers behave until the smoke clears and its back to business as usual.

In my opinion enforcement must be sustained in order to be effective. "Secret" stings and New Years Eve sweeps don't improve the industry long term, but they are good for the newspapers. I mean, hey, everybody likes to hear a good "secret" now and then. My suggestion is announce a "secret" sting every six months with a real secret sting three months after each announcement. Then you get the benefit of the announcement and the sting. But shhhhh, it's a secret!

Ecouter, ecouter, ecouter!

Well, for those of you who don't speak French, which I don't, that meansn strike (It really means listen). Apparently the French taxicab driver's union has figured out a way to herd cats, I mean organize taxi drivers. Drivers all over France are upset that the number of taxicab medallions may be increased in an effort to increase jobs. An interesting concept to be sure. Drivers no doubt see the increase as a watering down of their income to employ more workers.

President Sarkozy's reported complaint that it's hard to get taxi in Paris would hardly justify as many as 60,000 additional medallions, a number dreamed up by the union. However, some increase could easily be justified since there has been barely any increase since 1937.

While I can see both points of view, if I were the union I'd start looking for a compromise number. The reported 80% participation in the strike is impressive, but being too rigid in your "demands" will only get you Bloomberged. If the good citizens of France find it difficult to get a cab then gaining sympathy for the strikers themselves may be a tough go. Ask the NYC TWA what happens when you bet double or nothing with politicians.

"It's sneaky, it's underhanded".

That's the comments attributed to Bhairavi Desai, the head of the NYC Taxi Workers Alliance, when asked about the TLC's (that would be Taxi and Limousine Commission, not tender loving care) sting operation targeting drivers who refuse credit cards.

Gee, what does she expect? The TLC is going to put new rules into place and thenjust let drivers ignore them? Unlike a lot of cities the NYC TLC is doing its job. Good for them. NYC taxicab drivers are in a regulated business. The rules apply to all drivers not just those who choose to abide by them. The TLC is responding to citizen complaints as a government agency should be doing. Calling their tactics which I have recommended in the past and still do underhanded just points up the lack of leadership I see as the TWA's primary weakness.

The battle is lost for the TWA as far as credit cards are concerned. It would be wise for them to encourage their members to comply with the statutes governing their industry to avoid fines and possible loss of their license. Grousing and whining over the issue just promotes behavior that will result in heartache for the drivers.

So, what say you TWA? Are you going to promote your drivers bad behavior by whining about the TLC's tactics or are you going to encourage your drivers to comply with the law? Your answer will say a lot to the integrity of your organization. I've found, as a driver and company manager, that simply following the rules governing the industry made concern over stings or inspections unnecessary.

As predicted.

I made a prediction many months ago that it would come to pass that the rights of Muslim drivers would come into conflict with the rights of blind passengers to travel with their guide dogs. And so it has.

Vancouver's "bill of rights" for taxi riders include a provision requiring the transportation of blind customers with guide dogs. Local Muslim "leaders" are complaining. What really makes the story noteworthy is some of the comments attributed to Aziz Khaki, the vice-chair of the Muslim Canadian Federations.

Khaki is reported to have said, "You should respect the belief of a person. Whether right or wrong it is his interpretation". So that would mean that if a person believed that all Muslims were terrorists we should respect that belief? Or perhaps we should revisit our opinions of the Ku Klux Klan based on Mr. Khaki's belief that we should respect the beliefs of a person right or wrong?

Is having a guide dog in the back seat of your cab "coming in contact" with the dog? Maybe if you pet the dog which doesn't seem to be part of the "bill of rights". I'm not sure how you could claim "contact" otherwise. Let's face it, there are those who believe that their religious beliefs trump the rights of others. I am not one of those.

If you choose to engage in a regulated industry then you have chosen to abide by the rules and regulations of that industry. If you cannot or will not just get out of the industry and find yourself an occupation that is not in conflict with your beliefs. The "I'm special and don't have to follow the rules" attitude is common in our world today which is part of what makes following the rules harder for those of us who do.

Strike a week.

Not to be left out, Washington DC taxicab drivers are planning a strike a week to prevent the installation of meters in their taxicabs. Former reported crack head mayor Marion Barry is reported to want to stop the installation of taximeters claiming that transportation costs will increase. Huh? Drivers claim their income will go down while the recovering mayor says travel costs will go up. What am I missing here?

In my opinion, its leadership like that of Mr. Barry that has the industry in DC in the shape it's in. I am not familiar with any major city that uses zone rates. Perhaps, the strike organizers can point up exactly where that city might be. Or, perhaps, Mr. Barry can point up where that might be. Political posturing isn't leadership. Keeping the industry in the dark ages for whatever political gain might be derived is a pretty sad statement of what's important to some politicians.

"Politicians say more taxes, will solve everything" That prophetic line from the Temptations hit tune from the 70's must be the inspiration behind the new tax plan for NYC drivers. Mayor Michael "I wannabe president" Bloomberg is reported to be touting the plan as a solution to NYC traffic gridlock, improving the environment and a way to improve mass transit. Come on Mikey, you left out the millions that will be collected from the good citizens (reads suckers) going to the government to pass out for more "bid dig" projects.

The city would get a $1 surcharge from every taxi and car service fare. Now, I don't know how politicians view all this, but my experience has been that "surcharges" come directly out of the driver's tip. How many times did I have a customer flip me a $10 bill on an $8 fare before I reminded him of the airport surcharge. Reply, "that should cover it". So what we're really talking about is every driver giving up $1 out of each fare. Hello, TWA, where are you?

I can't understand why the villagers aren't outside the Bloomberg castle with pitchforks and torches. The "taxi tax" will do more to negatively affect taxicab driver income than any 5% on a credit card charge. They also intend to raise parking fees. Last time I visited New York City it cost more to park my car than my hotel room. I think I'll just plan my next convention for Las Vegas. At least there you can get valet parking for the same dollar.

Wheelchair accessible takes a back seat.

I cannot help but observe the obvious disparity in the importance of the politically hot issues versus politically unimportant issues. Wheelchair accessible taxicab service has been an issue in the industry for decades while green vehicles have been in vogue for only a short time. Strangely, green vehicles are being mandated while wheelchair vehicles are not.

Green vehicles are supposed to be helping a problem that is a hundred or so years down the road while wheelchair vehicles aren't being mandated for a problem that currently exists. What's the difference? Political popularity. The environmental crowd is larger than the wheelchair bound crowd.

London, Ontario is attempting to deal with the wheelchair issue right now. It seems to be missing the obvious solution, however, which is to simply just mandate that all replacement vehicles be wheelchair accessible and be unrestricted.

It's been reported that a new wheel chair accessible medallion can cost nearly $140,000 and yet the industry claims that the conversion and maintenance costs will put them out of business. I submit that if you can afford to pay 140k for a medallion you can afford the extra 3k or 4k that it costs for an accessible vehicle.

Do not place restrictions on wheelchair accessible medallions. Placing restrictions on wheelchair accessible medallions only limits their value. If you are going to issue wheelchair accessible medallions you should make them just as attractive as regular medallions which will encourage their use. Putting unrestricted wheelchair accessible medallions rather than an unrestricted non-wheelchair accessible medallion up for bid may draw a smaller prize for the city, but it will put the vehicles you seek on the street faster and with fewer complaints. Why would you want to complicate the process?

—dmc

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